Marks & Spencer has raided the senior ranks of Asda and Sainsbury’s to fill two new roles within its leadership team as part of moves to overhaul its store estate.
Helen Milford has been appointed as Retail Director. She joins M&S from Sainsbury’s Argos unit where she is Director of Retail on the management board. Before joining Argos in 2016, she worked for 12 years at Asda in a variety of roles, having started her career at Boots.
At M&S, Milford will lead its 70,000 store staff by managing four heads of division: Laura Mitchell (North) and Ken Sculley (Ireland), who were recently joined by Alex Hanson (Central, from Arcadia) and Mark Henry (South, from Lidl).
Meanwhile, Will Smith is joining M&S as its new Property Director. He has been working at Asda as VP of Real Estate, Facilities and Market Development for the just over eight years. He had been MD of Netto in the UK, which Asda subsequently acquired.
In his new role, he will look after M&S’s Property function including asset and estate management, acquisitions and disposals, construction delivery, and health and safety.
Both new executives will report into Sacha Berendji, the group’s Retail, Operations & Property Director.
Commenting on why it was adding the two new roles, Berendji said: “Building a store estate that’s fit for the future with industry-leading store operations and empowered colleagues is a key part of our transformation programme.”
He added: “Will Smith’s experience spans property, strategy and general management and he will drive forward our plans to create a store estate fit for the future. He will have accountability for every aspect of our property function including our newly formed asset management team and extensive property portfolio.
“Helen has an outstanding track record and she will be supported by two new Heads of Division with the right breadth and depth of experience to deliver our mission to be the best retail operator with the most engaged and empowered colleagues in UK retail.”
Recent trading figures suggest that M&S’s turnaround programme is starting to deliver results, particularly in is food division. The business has been working to close underperforming stores, cut costs, and overhaul its product offering to make it more appealing and competitive.
